Smarter Travel

Running - Getting Started

Glasgow is an excellent place to get fit whether you are on the fringes where you have access to the beautiful countryside of the Clyde Valley or closer to the city, we have over 90 parks with over 3,380 hectares of land, that’s the equivalent of over two and a half thousand football fields! There is also the river side route and the paths alongside the canals, also popular with cyclists so there is always someone else around.

To avoid injury and enjoy the experience, it's essential to ease yourself into running slowly and increase your pace and distance gradually over several outings.

Start each run with a gentle warm-up of at least five minutes. This can include quick walking, marching on the spot, knee lifts, side stepping and climbing stairs.

Start walking for an amount of time that feels comfortable.

When you first start out, try alternating between running and walking during your session.

As time goes on, make the running intervals longer until you no longer feel the need to walk.

Give yourself a few minutes to cool down after each run by walking and a doing few stretches.

Regular running for beginners means getting out at least twice a week. Your running will improve as your body adapts to the consistent training stimulus.

It's better to run twice a week, every week, than to run six times one week and then do no running for the next three weeks.